A big Step backwards

This will be my last Blog report before I disappear to Morocco, and not the best way to end.

The last few weeks have not been good as I picked up a calf strain when out with Mark Syred from BBC Essex, doing another interview. This strain also pulled on the inside of my hamstring making any running extremely painful, so I stopped.

Resting it now is the only option, although I will go out for a short trot later this week, just to make sure it is healing, but nothing too much. The MDS is now less than two weeks away and I want to be at the start line, knowing I can run and be ok.

On another note Anglia News has finally shown an interest and although they cancelled last minute this morning I am hoping they will be back for a feature before I go and raise some more money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Only a short report this time and nerves are getting more frayed as we get closer to the big off, but everything is packed and ready for the off (after re-packing for the umpteenth time, but it all fits (ish).

Will try to do daily reports from the run, once it starts and keep the Blog updated, but it will depend on whether Mandy has problems with the home PC.

Ciao for Now

Fw: Marathon Des Sables Updates

Hi All

With the Marathon Des Sables on a few weeks away, I thought it best to let you know about a few bits.

The organisers, as in previous years, will provide a communications tent (i.e. an old laptop on a table). This gives competitors a chance to send and receive messages during the week. My intention is to send a message to Mandy every night, that she can forward on to you select few(ish) and the message will also update my own Blog (http://richardmerry.blogspot.com) at the same time.

This will serve three purposes; Firstly - to re-assure Mandy & Freya that all is well (the reality may be changed to protect the young). Secondly - to let everyone know what is going on and how the day went, and thirdly - to stop Mandy cashing in my life policy. There will probably be no communication on the 4th day (Wednesday 1st April - there is a joke about fools there somewhere) as it is the 55 mile stage and I will probably not be back before nightfall (or possibly before sun-rise the following morning)

I can't guarantee that my spelling will be great (nothing new) and that it won't get too mushy, but as my sponsors it gives you a chance to see that I am earning your money.

Replying to me (and it would be extremely appreciated) is via a different route. The organisers web-site has a message page, where you enter the runners race number (695 in my case) and it will then allow you to send a message that way. The link to this is http://www.darbaroud.com, and look for the section entitled "write to competitors". The site also has a results page and daily updates by the race director, regarding temps and distances. You cannot reply directly to the e-mail from Mandy or the address from morocco, as it will not be delivered. The above details will probably come up in French, but the English version is available.

If you don't want to know any of this then let me know and I will ignore your request take you off the mailing list.

Hope this all makes sense (!!!)

Richard

Grantham Canal Run – 29.3 Miles – Tale of two halves

This was meant to be a back-to-back race, with 29.3 miles on the Saturday, from Cotgrave to Grantham and then back again on the Sunday. The route was the canal path, which, apart from the odd lock was flat and easy under foot. The race was organised and started by Rory Coleman, an MDS vet and ultra runner of note, and very nice guy too. Starting from the sports centre in Cotgrave, and after a minor loss of way, we got to the canal path after 1½ miles. The initial pathway was gravel on hard trails, with no give and this would cause problems later combined with low bridges. Checkpoints were at about 5, 10, 15 and 21 miles and supplied water and sweets, and a chance to stop.

Most runners were training for the MDs and there was a plethora of Raidlight back-packs and M1100MDS trainers, although expecting it to be very wet underfoot I ran in my Asics Gel Cumulus trainers, and glad I did. As after about 16 miles the trail turned to grass and mud and the trainers started sinking in and letting in the water and mud. This would have been bad news for the MDS trainers and I wanted to train in those in the next few weeks with a full pack.

On this race I was carrying very little, only about 4kgs, and only in the 10 litre pack as well.

However disaster struck after 14 miles on a very low bridge, who you had to go under on your haunches and I felt my right calf stretch and within a few hundred yards I was reduced to a trot and by the next checkpoint at 15 miles my target time of 4hrs 30 was gone. I could only run/walk to the finish and took 3 hours to complete the rest of the distance. Still happy to have done the race distance and finished 28th from 70, but concerned about the damage I may have done and that there was a run back the next day. Once I had finished it was off to my room and grabbed a bag of ice for the calf. A quick shower and some food and then an hour on the bed with ice on my leg.

I couldn’t stay too long as Rory had organised a Doctor for Medical certificate signing and ECG taking, thankfully I was recovered in time to pass both, and then stay for a seminar on the MDS by Andy Mcmenemy, who had completed the 2007 MDs and 2008 Namibia desert race as well, and who passed on some very good tips on foot care and other ideas too.

After that I shuffled off to the room, hoping for a good nights sleep (no chance), and being ok for the Sunday run.

Sunday came and I went home. No running at all. The calf had stiffened in the night and was pulling on the upper Achilles tendon and I was not prepared to risk all for the sake of not having a DNS against my name on the race. I wasn’t the only one as others had seen sense and were resting niggles in anticipation of the bigger days to come.

The damage wasn’t long lasting and I was out running, albeit for 3 miles, on Monday and although stiff in the thighs and energy not up to peak, the calf felt better, if not perfect.

So next is the Marathon Des Sables. I have another 3 weeks of training, and tapering and 100 miles total left on my training plan. Time is still on my side to stretch the calf and take it easy on the longer runs.

I have another meeting with Mark Syred of BBC Essex on Sunday, I still need to get my gaiters attached to the shoes and, although I have all my kit, I need to get my backpack packed properly so that everything fits in (too much food!)

Race Numbers are here!!!!!!!!!

My race number has been confirmed as 695, for this years event and all can contact me during the race as long as the race number is quoted. The organisers at darbaroud (www.darbaroud.com) say that you need the number and names etc to send messages, but in the past i have found runners with justa number.

I hope to get a few messages during the race, and have sent a list of details to family, Freinds and sponsors, on how to follwo the race and my progress.

Back to the joys of sunny Britain

As you can probably guess from the title, i have been away and enjoying the sunshine in Florida. Not a training holiday or one paid for by supporters, but a family break at Disney in Orlando. Weather, however, was at times very British (cold, damp and grey) but with daytime hitting 28C on one occasion, it was a welcome break.

No training at all during the break, although miles were walked everyday and often with a 4-year-old on my shoulders (my daughter that is, not someone elses'), and now i am back to the reality of the MDS being only 43 days away.

Training this week will be hard to get back into, and even though i have a target of 55 miles for the week, i am expecting to fall short, mainly due to very stiff hamstrings from the return flight on Sunday. BUT, the target is set and my aim is to get there, so we will have to wait and see.

Thames Towpath 54 miles - Race Report

I originally applied for this event in April 2008, as I was keen to add it to my scheduled races in the lead up to the MDS.

But this was not going to be easy. Just getting there was a nightmare. The first train of the day, from Colchester to Reading left at 4.45am, and with a change for the London Tube and then other main line change I was due to get to Reading at 7.24am, 6 min before the registration desk closed. I had already warned the organisers that there may be an issue, regarding my possible late arrival and I had to cross fingers etc to hope that there would be no delays.

The race itself followed the Thames Towpath from Reading to Shepperton in London, so would be fairly flat (apart from the lock gates and bridges), although I wasn't expecting it to be on paths all the way. This race also had a mandatory kit list, with 'essentials' similar to the MDs, and was therefore touted as a good trial for the MDS itself. However the thought of carrying a 9kg pack for the whole race was a bit off putting, not that I was worried about the weight, or finishing the run, but more about the extra strain that it would put on my body ahead of the MDS and I didn't want to risk the chance of injury. So I took a lighter pack weight, which was still 4kg and took a basic change of clothing as well as a compass, map bag, space blanket and head torch and hopefully enough food to get me through, including an expedition Foods Chocolate Mousse (which I didn't use in the end).

Water would be available at 4 checkpoints so I needed to managed my intake between points, and therefore took an extra water bottle as well as having a camelbak bladder in my back-pack and as the weather was forecasting light rain I also took a lightweight jacket and hat.
Saturday came and, apart from a minor panic when they changed the platform that the train at Paddington was leaving from , which made me charge across to the other side of the station that was the only incident. I was up on time, although had only slept a few hours, as is my normal pattern of sleep the night before a race, and everything else fell into place and I arrived to join the back of the queue and registered safely. I had decided to take my camera with me on this run, to test it out before the MDS, so started with a few snaps of the Thames and our point of departure, although none of this could be seen due to heavy cloud and a sudden very heavy downpour that drenched everyone. Thankfully the rain only lasted 10 minutes and that was the last we would see of it for the day.

After a quiet race briefing (which was heard by only the front few runners - why won't race directors realise that mega-phones are there for a reason), we made our way to the start and were off. The field, of about 150, soon thinned out and the sun was up and already I was starting to over heat. I had my light rain jacket, a thin reflective top and an Under Armour Long sleeve shirt on, so within 2 miles I had to stop and remove the jacket. Then I could try to fall back into my rhythm and get a constant pace going. However the footing was very poor and the towpath disappeared to give way to sloppy mud. We stuck with this for few miles before returning to a proper footpath, giving time to admire the very expensive houses we passed in the area.

The first checkpoint (and I use that word loosely) was in Henley-on-Thames where I was born 41 years ago, so it was a return to home. It had taken 1 hour 36 min to get to the first checkpoint at 10 miles, which is slow for me but this wasn't a race that I was trying to win, just finish.

The second checkpoint at Marlow was under a main road flyover (who said Ultra running wasn't glamorous) and was at eighteen miles, which in total had taken me 2hrs 56 mins to do, but after a few more miles the scenery led to a gorgeous stretch of Thames

and so off to the next checkpoint. By this time I was starting to feel uncomfortable. My right thigh was throbbing and once I got to the 3rd Checkpoint at Bray, near Maidenhead, it was time for a good break and some nurofen tablets. A restock on fluids and a few bites to eat and in 10 mins I was feeling a lot better. I had started with a run 15 mins and walk 5 min strategy, but it now dropped to run walk as felt comfortable. This seemed to work most and would be my strategy for the MDS.

We now approached Windsor and Eton and the Queen was in today and the tourists in the town were treated to a procession of mud covered, sweaty and tired looking runners from across the world (French, S African, German and even as far as Scotland) traipsing through the town. It was here that I met up with Mark David, another MDS runner for this year and between us we covered the last 20 miles helping and talking to each other, and in the last 10 miles picking start and stop points for jogs. His policy was the same as my own, having spent a weekend with Rory Coleman on one of his seminars and learning the best way to do the MDS.

Checkpoint four (at Runnymede) saw us hitting the final leg and with the temperatures dropping I had to stick my jacket back on and warm up a little. We headed for home and in the fading light had to resort to head-torches for the final hour. Apart from getting lost in the last mile (due to a poor map description, we finally made it to Shepperton, coming in at 17:47pm and taking a total of 9hrs 41 mins (8hrs 59 min running and the rest stopping at the checkpoints). 20 mins inside my target time, and very pleased to finish.
3 hours later I arrived home having made my way back into London and then out, smelling not too sweetly, but I did get a seat on the train to myself, and within 10 mins of getting in I was in a bath and in bed by 10pm. Only sleeping for 3 hours when cramp set in and I had to get up. Cereal and a cup of tea at 3am never tasted so nice.

Would I do it again?, without doubt and would recommend it to anyone who wanted to do an Ultra, I wouldn't change anything about my kit or food I took and learnt one good thing from it and that was I was running right and sensibly, setting my targets correctly and timing things at the right pace.

Next up, a trip to Great Ormond Street Hospital on the 21st Jan and then 2 weeks in Florida on a much needed family break. Won't be doing much running (if at all) but will probably be carrying Freya on my shoulders and walking a lot so the exercise will still be coming.

Once back I have the Grantham Canal run to plan for, which is a 30 mile run from Nottingham to Grantham on a Saturday and the back again on the Sunday.

Stansted Stagger 26 miles (Dec 08) – Race Report

The last LDWA event I plan to do before the MDS, and one with a local group. After missing out on the Gatliff run, this was the first real test since the start of November, and following on from weeks of low level training and then the interruption of Christmas I didn’t know how it would turn out.Thankfully very well! The weather had been very cold and frosty, which was a good thing at the start of the race, as the ground was hard enough to stop the mud sticking to my trainers. The route was again laid out as a description on paper, and walkers had already left an hour before I started, along with 20 runners. Once into my stride and after an unplanned detour (lost in first mile) I found the going very easy. Out of the village of Stansted Mountfitchet, and into the fields and nearby lanes. This run had only one checkpoint so I decided to take my 10 litre back-pack and carry a few extra goodies, than I normally would on a marathon, spare jacket and socks, spare hat, gel, mint cake and a cliff bar, was well as a full camelbak bladder.
Once out in the countryside I found myself alone quite quickly, having left a lot of other runners behind, and despite not taking a MP3 player, so I could concentrate on the directions, was enjoying the run. As I went I passed other runners who had started before me, and reached the 13 mile checkpoint in 1hr 51 min, and was the first to arrive. Stopping for a drink and snacks provided at the checkpoint, I changed hat and long sleeve top and headed off, just as the next runner arrived.

The route now became a bit obscure in its description and at a number of turns I took a gamble, which thankfully were the right decision, and with the ground now giving in the winter sunshine the mud stared piling up on my feet, slowing me down and adding to the effort. I was eventually passed by another runner, but managed to trail him all the way to the finish, and although we were passed by another runner in the last mile I was happy to finish in 3rd place in a time of 4hr 9min. A lot of the second half of the run was very much a run/walk stage mainly due to my lost fitness, but I finished with no injuries or pain, and the time was very pleasing as the winner (in 3hrs 42), was the reigning UK Montrail Ultra champion, so no shame there.

Next up is the Thames Towpath, which despite being longer at 50 miles won’t have the off-road hindrance that the Stagger had. Not that that will make it any easier.

Finally back running again

Not a great deal to report, from the last three weeks. I have only just got over the knee strain and last week was my first full week running for some time. Managed a total of xx miles, some of it with a 7kg pack on, which felt ok and I have calculated a final pack weight of 12kg, so will need to up the weight on a weekly basis now. My next race is the Stansted Stagger, a 26 mile LDWA organised event, this coming Sunday (28th), and once I get back to full time work after the Christmas break I will be able to book up a final race before the MDS.

I have already ear-marked the Grantham Canal 2 day ultra at the end of February, which is a 30 mile run one –way on the Saturday and then the return run the next day (http://www.rorycoleman.co.uk/Grantham%20Canal%20Run.asp?nid=23&pid=20) for more details. I should also be able to get my ECG and medical signed off at the same time too.

I have had my jabs for the race now so shouldn’t (yeh right!!) pick up any nasty tropical diseases, so all I need to do is keep training and in 13 weeks enjoy the hot sunshine.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all

Salomon XT-Wings – From Fitness Footwear

These are marketed as effortless running shoes that are suitable for any terrain, and from the first step in these they felt comfortable, well fitted and almost worn-in already.

I found they gripped and glided over whatever the surface I ran on including a mixture of roads and trails, and felt equally comfortable to road running as to trails.. The Triple Density Eva mid-sole gave such a good ride and great lacing system that only requires one pull to adjust and then leave, made these a perfect pair for shoes.


The loud “grass and black”, the restrained (?) bright red or the more subtle black and grey, give you the option of really standing out or blending in with the crowd, but with the speed agility and grip that these shoes give, most other runners will be left looking at your dust trail.

One last point; they do fit snugly, so I would recommend a ½ size bigger than normal, but they still feel great.

On a rating of 1 to 10, I would have to give these 10, as I cannot fault them at all.

Gatliff Marathon - None Starter

This was an event I was looking forward to, and had made arrangements with John Greenbank, another 2009 MdS runner I had been in contact with via the Best of Morocco web-site, to meet up and run together and have a chat. However the race was a non-starter for me due to an injury sustained in my left knee.

A week ago I was out on a good long Sunday morning run, however the weather had turned against me and was making life difficult. Now most weather conditions I am happy to run in. Not particularly keen on strong wind, but everything else is fine. On this Sunday it was a combination of strong winds, snow and sleet, and it was the sleet coming in on a horizontal plane that was causing the problem. I had my beanie hat almost covering my eyes and a buff pulled up to the top of my nose, so only had a slit to see out of and, as can be guessed, I missed the edge of a kerb and twisted my knee.

Stupid I know, but it was the only way I could see comfortably. I had hoped that a lot of rest would see me right and although it did feel better towards the end of the week there was no way I would last for 31 miles in the mud etc, so decided on the Saturday afternoon not to run. Sent my apologies to John, who, politely, cursed me as I had persuaded him to run in the race too (he’ll thank me for it in the long run?!?), and planned to run a 5 miler on Sunday instead.

That proved too much again, as after 2 miles the knee started to buckle and it was a steady walk home rather than carrying on – right decision not to do the marathon, but hopefully if the knee has improved then next Sunday I will try to find another race to do and still keep training as well.